Senior Finance Manager

About Mitti Labs

Mitti Labs operates at the crossroads of climate, agriculture, and technology, dedicated to revolutionizing the rice sector by empowering smallholder farmers with sustainable farming techniques. Our mission is to tackle climate change, enhance food and water security, and uplift farmer livelihoods. Key impacts include reducing methane emissions, conserving water, and boosting crop yields. We enable scalability and monetization of these interventions by generating high-quality carbon credits. Additionally, we support farmers with climate-smart inputs and premium market access. Our strength lies in our dMRV system, which integrates advanced ground measurements and satellite data, enhancing transparency and operational efficiency.

Since starting operations in May 2023, we have developed our dMRV product for deployment across seven major rice-growing states, executed carbon projects covering 40,000 hectares, and established valuable partnerships with organizations such as Syngenta Foundation, Dr. Reddys Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and Ebro Foods. Founded by a team with strong sustainability and technology expertise, we now comprise over 60 professionals across data science, engineering, operations, and commercial functions, backed by investors like Lightspeed and Voyager.

Role Overview

As Mitti Labs rapidly grows, our financial operations must evolve accordingly. Presently, we depend on external providers in India and the U.S. and use a blend of manual tasks and software tools. We aim to internalize our finance function with a Senior Finance Manager to build it from the ground up, supporting the leadership team with robust financial operations and analysis.

This position bridges accounting and financial planning & analysis (FP&A). You will oversee payroll, payments, expenses, monthly close, and compliance calendars for Indian and U.S. entities. Establishing scalable financial systems, controls, and company card processes will relieve founders from transactional approvals. You will provide well-organized financial actuals and assist with forecasting, variance analysis, and unit economics. There is growth potential to lead forecasting and strategic modelling efforts.

Initially, you will execute tasks independently and later recruit and manage a Finance Assistant. Relationships with external auditors and chartered accountants will also be coordinated by you to ensure statutory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage payroll across the U.S. and India, collaborating with HR on employee lifecycle changes.
• Process payments to tens of thousands of smallholder farmers accurately with solid audit trails aligned to carbon standards.
• Invoice clients, monitor collections, handle third-party invoices, orchestrate payment runs with founders, and report on grant funding.
• Maintain banking relationships and operate bank portals effectively.
• Perform monthly reconciliations and close books for U.S. and Indian entities, transitioning these duties from external providers to in-house operations.
• Coordinate and prepare for annual statutory audits, liaising with external auditors and chartered accountants.
• Support forecasting and FP&A by ensuring reliable financial data flows for variance and unit economics analysis linked to farming seasons.
• Eventually assume greater responsibility for financial modelling, cash flow/running planning, and providing board and investor reports.
• Manage tax and regulatory compliance for both countries, including GST, TDS, RBI, and FEMA filings with support from external specialists.
• Administer finance and payroll software platforms and implement robust approval and spending controls including company card issuance with spending limits.
• Review expense reimbursements, update reimbursement policies, and optimize manual processes with system automation.
• Oversee intercompany reconciliations, transfer pricing, and treasury functions between U.S. and Indian entities.
• Support the establishment and finance setup of new entities in the Philippines and Southeast Asia as the company expands.

Qualifications and Experience

Mandatory Qualifications:

• 7 to 10+ years managing finance operations, accounting, or controllership, including finance leadership in startups or scale-ups.
• Direct hands-on experience with Indian payroll, monthly closing, and statutory compliance such as GST, TDS, RBI, and FEMA regulations.
• Familiarity with U.S. entity finance functions including payroll and working with U.S. tax advisors.
• Understanding intercompany accounting and transfer pricing between U.S. and Indian companies.
• Proven track record managing external audit and tax advisor relationships to complete timely compliance.
• Excellent judgment to detect anomalies and discrepancies in financial accounts.
• Proficiency with accounting and payroll software (e.g., Zoho Books or equivalent) and advanced spreadsheet skills.
• Fluent English communication abilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professional accounting certification such as CA, CPA, ACCA, or equivalent.
• Experience establishing finance operations for new Southeast Asian entities.
• Exposure to FP&A activities including forecasting, variance analysis, and unit economics tracking.
• Experience launching company card, expense management, or payroll tools.
• Background in agriculture, climate-related ventures, carbon markets, or handling extensive small payments to individuals.
• Previous experience building and leading small finance teams.